Cavs: Coach Mike Brown admits he's facing big challenge

Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown questions a call in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014, in Houston. The Rockets won 106-92. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

Fans are openly calling for his job.
People are questioning whether he has lost the team.
Through it all, Cavaliers coach Mike Brown is keeping his chin up. His team has lost five in a row, as well as seven of their last eight, heading into the Los Angeles Lakers game at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena.
Brown said all the losing isn’t getting him down.
“It kind of makes me hungry,” he said. “I want to get after it and get it right, more than anything.
“Part of my natural instinct growing up was always trying to prove people wrong.”
Brown said the Cavs (16-32), who were 0-3 on their recent road trip, aren’t getting comfortable with all the losing.
“No, I don’t feel anyone is getting comfortable with that,” he said. “Our locker room after the game is not a happy or relaxed one.
“I’ve been in tough situations before. Anyone can sense, even talking about junior high or high school, that feeling. It still matters to the guys.”
He has faced some big challenges as a head coach. He guided the Cavs to the NBA Finals with LeBron James as their centerpiece. He later coached the Lakers, who featured future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant.
But he has been through nothing like this.
“This is a big challenge for me and for the team, just because of the dynamics and the age of the team, the expectations placed on the team and what we expect from ourselves,” Brown said. “It’s something that’s challenging for me. It’s something I haven’t been through before.”
When Cavs majority owner Dan Gilbert said he expected the team to be in the playoffs, that put pressure on it to succeed. It hasn’t quite panned out.
“I knew it was going to be a process,” Brown said. “From Day 1, I never said we’d have it figured out by Jan. 5 or March 5. It’s going to take time.”
But the Cavs are running out of time to get back in the playoff race.
Brown made another lineup change by inserting Jarrett Jack as the starting shooting guard. He’s averaging 9.5 points and 7.0 assists in the two games as a starter.
“I’m going to stick with it for a bit,” Brown said. “We had some real good moments with it.”
He didn’t think he would be changing the starting lineup this late in the season.
“You hope that you don’t have to,” Brown said. “To keep searching is something we need to do, and something I’m going to do. The team has done a nice job responding to it. It’s part of the process.”
Center Anderson Varejao returned for the Dallas game after a three-game absence with a hyperextended left knee. He had 10 points and five rebounds in 25 minutes. The Cavs haven’t regained their competitive edge on the boards and have been ourebounded in four consecutive games.
Neither Brown nor Varejao knew if there would be a minutes restriction from the medical staff on the 6-foot-11 center against the Lakers.
“I have to talk to them and see what’s going to happen (on Wednesday),” Varejao said. “I feel pretty good today. I’m getting used to the knee brace, getting used to the pain and everything. Overall, I feel great.
“My minutes were limited. But when Coach took me out (of the Dallas game), I said, ‘I’m fine. I’m feeling good. I’m not struggling or sore or anything.’ I wanted to play more, but I understand the situation.”
Brown said Varejao might not be back to the level he was before he got injured in the New Orleans game on Jan. 28.
“He moved around OK,” he said. “I don’t say that in a negative way. I’ve seen him move better, especially in the pick-and-roll situations on the backside. That’s a tribute to the speed of the game and the fact that it was a leg injury.”

About the Author

Bob has covered the Cavs for The News-Herald and Morning Journal since 1995. He's a graduate of Kent State University and New Philadelphia High School. Reach the author at rfinnan@morningjournal.com
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